Chapter 11: A round of fencing
"A prince?" Sebastian asked.
"Really, now didn't you pay attention to what Agni was saying before?" Lily asked, smiling.
"This is the 26th child of the king of Bengal, Prince Soma Asman Kadar." Agni said.
"Thanks for hosting me here, Shorty" Soma said.
"Wow you're a prince?" Finni asked.
"I've never seen a prince up close before" Bard said.
"Well now you have" Lily snapped. "There's nothing to see here. Go do your chores or something." The servants walked away.
"She sounds like Sebastian when she's angry, yes she does…" They walked away, but instantly were back when Soma said
"You may approach"
"What is the Penkal palace like, huh?" Maylene asked.
"It's a holy land blessed by the goddess Kali and the Ganges river." Lau walked up behind Sebastian and Lily.
"So you brought your servants with you?"
"Yes, our guard dog is watching the mansion." Sebastian said. Pluto howled outside in response.
"Sebastian, don't let them out of your sight."
"Yes, my lord."
"Since there are two of them, I'll help as well." Lily said.
*The next morning*
The curtains opened.
"It's time to wake up, Lord Phantomhive" Ciel opened his eyes.
"Ugh… lord… Phantomhive?" He asked. "Eh?" He saw Agni. He was sure however, to keep his other eye closed.
"Namaste ji, Lord Phantomhive." Ciel stood up.
"What? Why are you in my room?" Ciel asked. Soma picked Ciel up and carried him around like a doll.
"We're going out, Shorty. Show us around town." Soma said.
"Why should I? And my name isn't Shorty, it's Ciel"
"All right, Ciel, I order you to show me around town." He began to run towards the door. "Come" He screeched to a halt. Sebastian stood in the doorway, Lily a few steps behind him. She was wearing a pretty gold dress today, and her hair was in a long braid.
"Pardon me, but my young master's schedule for today is filled with a lot of study and work, as well as you, My Lady." He said to Lily.
"What? Why me?"
"Well, I heard that you had a tutor before this, and that this was your last year in learning. I'm sure I can fill in for that tutor." Lily sighed.
Ciel and Lily stood together, with Sebastian on the other side.
"I shall be your tutor while we are in London" He said. Ciel was holding a violin, while Lily was seated by the piano.
"Bach's Chaconne?" Ciel asked, looking at the music. "I can't play something this difficult."
"I make the rules here" Sebastian said, tapping Ciel's chin with his bow and adjusting his glasses, which Lily was sure he put on just for fun
. Ciel poked it out of the way.
"Do you have a problem with my teaching methods?"
Ciel lifted the violin and began to play.
"You come in after he's done the first part, Lily" Lily nodded. Suddenly they heard a voice.
"Hey, get that thing off the piano!" Lily called.
"What are they doing?"
"They seem to be praying, but it's quite a surreal idol isn't it?" Lau said.
"To me it merely looks like the statue of a woman… carrying a severed head, wearing a necklace of severed heads and dancing madly on top of a man's stomach."
"She is Kali, a goddess of our Hindu faith." Agni said, his hands still together in prayer.
"A goddess of India?"
"Kali is the wife of Shiva and the goddess of power." He held up a picture. "Long ago, a demon rashly challenged her to a fight. Naturally she was victorious. However, afterwards her destructive urges were not quelled, and she abandoned herself to destruction and carnage. But then! To protect the Earth, her husband Shiva threw himself at her feet! Treading on her husband with her unclean feet brought Kali back to her senses, and peace returned to the world."
"Well there you have it" Ciel said, looking at Sebastian.
"Hmm… I wasn't aware of anyone so strong."
"Yeah, that's great, now could you please get this thing off the piano so I can finally practice?" Lily asked, slightly annoyed.
"Now, since we're done praying, it's time to go out!" Soma said, grabbing Ciel.
"I told you I'm busy!"
*later*
Soma lay on the carpet, bored.
"Honestly, when are you going to finish?" He asked as the clanging of swords got louder. "I say, what are you doing? I say…"
"Be quiet, you're distracting me!"
"Britishers are so short tempered" Soma said as Sebastian and Ciel fenced. Suddenly, he grabbed the sword out of Sebastian's hand.
"Fine, if you want my attention that badly, I'll oblige!" He threw a sword at Soma, who caught it.
"Then if I win, you'll go out on the town with me." Soma said.
"If you can win" Soma said. Agni smiled and poured tea into a cup.
"I wish you luck" He said.
"Begin!" Sebastian called. Soma charged.
"You're mine!" His sword clanged against Ciel's boot. "It bent…"
"Hitting someone's legs with a foil has no effect." He lunged.
"You're not fair! I don't know the rules!"
"A fight is a fight. It's your fault for not knowing." Ciel lunged with a confident smile on his face.
"Your highness, look out!" Agni caught the foil in a cup and hit Ciel's pressure point. Lily ran forwards, and before Agni could land a second hit, had caught him in a headlock, in such a position that he couldn't even twitch a finger. Ciel fell, and Lily released Agni.
"L-lord Phantomhive, I'm so sorry" He ran to Ciel's side. "When I saw the prince losing, my reflexes took over…" Soma laughed.
"Good job protecting your master, Agni, I commend you" He said. He looked at Lily, as did Agni, with a surprised look on both of their faces. "And you… I was shocked. How did you move so quickly?" He asked Lily. She dusted off her gold dress.
"Speed is the one thing I'm good at. I lack strength and coordination in a fight, but speed is one thing I can count on." She said. "You're lucky you only landed one hit on Ciel." She said to Agni.
"Why is that?"
"His fiancée would have killed you." She said. "I'm being fully serious." She added when Agni, Ciel and Soma started laughing.
"Agni is my khansama (butler), he belongs to me. In other words, I win." Soma said.
"But… but" Ciel said.
"My my… butler, it looks like you'll have to avenge your master." Lau said, twirling and tossing the foil to Sebastian.
"This is what you get for provoking a novice who doesn't know the rules." Sebastian said. "However, as the Phantomhive butler, I cannot remain quiet when someone harms my master. And more importantly, we are a full ten minutes behind schedule." He said, putting his pocket watch back into his pocket.
"That's what you really care about, isn't it?" Ciel asked. Actually, I would like for Lily to see my skills. Sebastian thought.
"Interesting… all right, I'll allow a duel. Agni, in the name of Kali, make sure you do not lose."]
"Sebastian, this is an order; shut that brat up!"
"Jo Ajna"
"Yes, my lord."
And with that, the fencing match began. They ducked and jumped evenly, and Ciel was surprised to see Agni match Sebastian's fighting skills. Lily was impressed to see Sebastian standing up to Agni. She had seen Agni fight, and had no idea how good Sebastian was until this point. Suddenly, both the foils snapped in half with the force.
"Good grief, the foils broke" Sebastian said, picking up his piece.
"Well, then it's a draw. Your khansama isn't bad, Ciel."
A draw? Against Sebastian? Ciel thought in surprise.
"Agni is the best warrior in my palace" Soma said as Ciel walked towards Sebastian. He fought a demon on equal terms…
"Sebastian, who is that man? Don't tell me he's another…"
"No, he's just a deadly human" Sebastian said.
"I see… but with that much power"
"He could easily hang men upside down…" He said.
"Ciel, come here, and you too, Lily" Those two walked forwards. Soma was holding two new swords.
"Frankly, I'm just curious. I would like to see more of that speed you showed us today, Lily" Soma said. Lily's eyes narrowed.
"I am not in a fit state to fight."
"Nonsense, you stopped Agni, didn't you?"
"With my right hand" She grumbled as she felt the bandages on her left arm under her sleeve.
"Why don't you fight Agni? I want to see which of you is faster?"
"He is, obviously" She said, catching the foil with her right hand. If he touches my left hand even once, he'll practically kill me. Sebastian seemed to be thinking the same thing. He watched with a look of worry on his face.
"I still want to see it for myself. I don't want you two to fight; I want you to lunge as fast as you can-" A resounding crash shook the room. Lily had thrown her sword into the rack which hung straight beside Soma's head.
"Forgive me, but I am in no fit state to do that. Please remember that we are in England, and not in India. I am not required to follow your orders here, especially an order I wouldn't be able to carry out otherwise. I managed to do it once, which was a miracle with all the injuries I have right now. I cannot do it again. Please excuse me."Every syllable shook with anger, and even Soma seemed surprised. She walked down the stairs to the basement without another word.
"Hmm… not a complacent type, is she?" Soma asked himself.
